Copyright Notices on Hubs - Why does it default to "no notice"

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   ChristinSposted 8 years ago

   I've been going through and radically updating lots of old hubs lately.  I've found that several of them have been here for a long time with "no notice" on them. 
   
   I know I'm still protected by copyright law even without that notice, but wouldn't it just make more sense for the default setting to be set to having the copyright notice turned on?

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      LillyGrillzitposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      On my older hubs I put my own copyright notices within the body of the article. Those will default to no notice. In the last couple of years HP provides a copyright notice, unless there is already something resembling one written in. That is the best I can figure.

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   2. 93

      lisavollrathposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I think it makes more sense not to have a copyright notice appear, to prevent one from showing up on a Hub that contains material the writer can't copyright (like other people's images). You have to consciously set the copyright notice to appear, which means you're making the determination that everything in the Hub originated with you.

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   3. 71

      Matthew Meyerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      @lisavollrath Had a great explanation.
      
      It defaults to no copyright in order to give authors the chance to control what is on their Hub and also because we don't want people to take content without permission and then a copyright symbol to automatically and inaccurately show on content that they do not have rights for.
      
      This way an author has to explicitly acknowledge they own the rights by adding the notice.
      
      Update: Images was not the best choice of words. I changed to to content, as it usually applies to textual information.

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      1. 39

         ChristinSposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         That makes sense - thanks

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      2. 83

         Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Sorry, Matthew Meyer. I do not understand it. What is defaulting to no copyright? And what is explicitly acknowledging?
         I never use this copyright notice on any of my works at other sites also. But, knowing is not bad, I hope.

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         1. 71

            Matthew Meyerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            We are talking about the option to display a copyright notice on Hubs.

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            1. 83

               Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Is it necessary to have copyright for my content and display it on my pages after obtaining one? I hope it is an understood and obligatory rule that no one should copy content of another one. Then why have a copyright registration and show it publicly? Is it not enough that HubPages enforces copyright law?

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                  chasmacposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  No, it's not necessary. That's why they've made it optional. Whether you display it or not doesn't affect your copyright in any way. The reason it defaults to 'no show' is so that people who use others' content  without permission won't automatically have a copyright symbol attached to it, supplied by HubPages. By choosing to show it, the author is confirming that they own the copyright. If they use someone else's content, illegally, they can't then make the excuse that "I never claimed copyright for this content - HubPages added that sign automatically".

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                  1. 83

                     Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks for the reply. I don't have any copyright registration. That's why I was worrying on seeing these comments here. Now, I am relieved that it does not affect.

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                     1. 90

                        chasmacposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        No Problem. By the way, do you know where that option is? It's In Edit Mode under Display Options - the same place where you organise your Hubs into groups.

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                           Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                           Thanks again for the information. But, I may not need to use it anyway.

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      3. 70

         makingamarkposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Please explain then why the only alternative option I have for 'no notice' is a notice which states a year - which happens to be before the hub was created on the one I've just been looking at.
         
         I don't need to provide year in my copyright notice so:
         1) why is HubPages including one
         2) how do I edit this out?
         
         I couldn't find any answers in the Help section which defaults to this thread!
         
         so 3) why isn't there an official help article for this issue?

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         1. 71

            Matthew Meyerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            The feature was designed with two options for Hubs.
            
            1. Authors can include a copyright notice with their name and the year when the Hub was first published.
            2. Authors can choose to not use the supplied copyright notice (-no notice-)

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2. 84

   psycheskinnerposted 8 years ago

   Given that there is no need to do it I would see it like any other module.  One I don't use on my hubs or any of my other online content.

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3. 84

   Marcy Goodfleischposted 8 years ago

   I vaguely recall HP suggesting to us several years ago that individual copyright notices were not needed, and not particularly advised.  The information above seems to contradict that.

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   1. 84

      psycheskinnerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Per the US copyright office a copyright notice is not necessary to assert/defend your copyright (it did use to be a requirement many years ago).  And in this context it may be seen as covering material on the page that is not copyright to the hubber.

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4. 90

   Kylyssaposted 8 years ago

   So we are not to use the notice if all of the text is ours but we've used and credited images by others on the page? That would have been nice to know.

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5. 96

   RonElFranposted 8 years ago

   WRT using the HP copyright notice on hubs containing properly attributed images to which the hub author does not hold the copyright:
   
   Think of all the books you've seen (textbooks are a great example) that are chock full of images that the book author does not hold copyright to. The same with newspapers and magazines. Seems to me that in normal practice, no one expects that the copyright on a book or article is intended to automatically cover included material (including quotes, BTW) that the author indicates comes from another source.
   
   I see no problem including the copyright notice on a hub that has images obtained elsewhere - IF the author has permission to use the image, and proper credit is given so that it is clear the hub author is not claiming ownership of the image.

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   1. 85

      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      That's what I was thinking, Ron.  I always attribute my images, whether mine or not.  Even if they are public domain, I so indicate.
      I do not see that as a deterrent from using the overall © notice on the hub, exactly because the images are otherwise credited within the article.

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         psycheskinnerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         When they are that is the case, but many people do not credit either because it is not strictly required or they just do not bother. Image crediting also not being compulsory (although it is recommended).

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